Formative Assessment Throughout Unit:
1. Guiding & Exploratory Questions:
- What is time?
- What determines how long an hour is?
- Why are there 24 hours in a day?
- Think back to the lesson we had on the Solar System. (activate prior knowledge) What determines how long a year is on Earth compared to Mercury? or, Why is Mercury’s year shorter than Earth’s?
- What do you think people did a long time ago, before electricity, or cars, to tell time accurately?
- What objects could people have used to aid them in measuring time?
- What methods did you use to get accurate measurements each time? (During Sun dial Lab) What could you have done to get more accurate?
- Does anyone know the purpose or reason why these structures (ancient observatories, and their purpose for measuring time) were useful back then, or why they were built?
- How could these ancient people use the sun to tell time in other ways?
- What were some ancient civilizations that you read about that used sundials?
- Where would a good spot be to place/ build our sundial?
- What do we need to build it?
- Once it is built...how does it work?
- Does the time of day matter when it is built? Why?
- Where does the sun rise? Set? Does this matter?
- What are the limitations of a sundial?
- What does the angle of the sun's rays have to do with the effectiveness of the sundial in measuring time?
- Does the angle of the sun's rays have anything to do with our seasons? How? What proof do we have?
- Could we expect the shadow made by the sundial to be in the same position and in the same spot at 10:00 AM on consecutive sunny days? Why?
- When could we expect to see a difference in the shadow, when looking at it at the same time every day?
- What other ways could we measure time? (Lead discussion towards the moon and stars)
- How could we measure time for longer periods?
- How could we for instance make a calendar?
- Why are there 12 months in our calendar?
- How can we use these cycles to make a calendar?
- Why do we need a calendar? Why do you use a calendar? Why did ancient civilizations have a use for calendars?
- Why is a calendar important?
- Is there another unit of time that we can use the Sun for for measurement?
- How would we go about doing that? What proof do we have? Does it have anything to do with the angle of the Sun's rays? The seasons? Long versus short days?
- What other objects in nature could we use to measure a unit of time?
- And what does that measure?
- What proof do you have that it measures that period of time?
- Would you consider that a repeating event that can be trusted to occur constantly "forever"? (a cycle)
- Is there a way to group those cycles together to measure a larger unit of time...like a year? How?
- How would we measure that to be a year?
- And what would we call something like that?
- How would you go about determining how long a year is from your birthday?
- What time scale is associated with the Sun, Moon, Obelisk, Sundial, Stars?
- Can we combine any of these time scales to produce one larger time measurement?
- So how would you use the sun and the moon to measure one full year? Hint, start your year on December 21st. (Use this final question to assess knowledge from leading questions about time measuring and grouping)
- What happens to the moon during the lunar cycle?
- What visual evidence is there that helps us observe the time measurement of a lunar month?
- Why do we have tides? Does the moon affect the tides? Why would a full or new moon create a high tide?
- Beginning with a new moon on the 1st day of the month, where do you think the full moon would be on the calendar?
- What is a full lunar cycle?
- So what are the different names of the phases in order of smallest amount of light seen to largest amount of light seen?
- When looking at a last quarter moon, is the moon phase towards the end or the beginning of the lunar cycle?
- If you see a moon that has a crescent shape on its left side, what is it called, and is the moon in the beginning or the end of its lunar cycle?
- How come we never see the other side of the moon?
- What does waxing mean?
- What is a gibbous moon, and what does it look like?
- What does a waxing gibbous moon look like?
- Which side of the moon has the shadow in a waxing gibbous moon?
- Now, where in its orbit would the moon have to be in order for it to appear this way from an earth viewpoint?
2. Other Forms of Formative Assessment
- Time measuring activity (partners)
- Construction of Sun dial
- Sundial Lab worksheet (observations and data)
- Graphic Organizer filled in class.
- Demonstration of moon phases in conjunction with the asking of guiding questions, and the formation of a calendar.
- Homework: drawing the moon in its phase.
1. Guiding & Exploratory Questions:
- What is time?
- What determines how long an hour is?
- Why are there 24 hours in a day?
- Think back to the lesson we had on the Solar System. (activate prior knowledge) What determines how long a year is on Earth compared to Mercury? or, Why is Mercury’s year shorter than Earth’s?
- What do you think people did a long time ago, before electricity, or cars, to tell time accurately?
- What objects could people have used to aid them in measuring time?
- What methods did you use to get accurate measurements each time? (During Sun dial Lab) What could you have done to get more accurate?
- Does anyone know the purpose or reason why these structures (ancient observatories, and their purpose for measuring time) were useful back then, or why they were built?
- How could these ancient people use the sun to tell time in other ways?
- What were some ancient civilizations that you read about that used sundials?
- Where would a good spot be to place/ build our sundial?
- What do we need to build it?
- Once it is built...how does it work?
- Does the time of day matter when it is built? Why?
- Where does the sun rise? Set? Does this matter?
- What are the limitations of a sundial?
- What does the angle of the sun's rays have to do with the effectiveness of the sundial in measuring time?
- Does the angle of the sun's rays have anything to do with our seasons? How? What proof do we have?
- Could we expect the shadow made by the sundial to be in the same position and in the same spot at 10:00 AM on consecutive sunny days? Why?
- When could we expect to see a difference in the shadow, when looking at it at the same time every day?
- What other ways could we measure time? (Lead discussion towards the moon and stars)
- How could we measure time for longer periods?
- How could we for instance make a calendar?
- Why are there 12 months in our calendar?
- How can we use these cycles to make a calendar?
- Why do we need a calendar? Why do you use a calendar? Why did ancient civilizations have a use for calendars?
- Why is a calendar important?
- Is there another unit of time that we can use the Sun for for measurement?
- How would we go about doing that? What proof do we have? Does it have anything to do with the angle of the Sun's rays? The seasons? Long versus short days?
- What other objects in nature could we use to measure a unit of time?
- And what does that measure?
- What proof do you have that it measures that period of time?
- Would you consider that a repeating event that can be trusted to occur constantly "forever"? (a cycle)
- Is there a way to group those cycles together to measure a larger unit of time...like a year? How?
- How would we measure that to be a year?
- And what would we call something like that?
- How would you go about determining how long a year is from your birthday?
- What time scale is associated with the Sun, Moon, Obelisk, Sundial, Stars?
- Can we combine any of these time scales to produce one larger time measurement?
- So how would you use the sun and the moon to measure one full year? Hint, start your year on December 21st. (Use this final question to assess knowledge from leading questions about time measuring and grouping)
- What happens to the moon during the lunar cycle?
- What visual evidence is there that helps us observe the time measurement of a lunar month?
- Why do we have tides? Does the moon affect the tides? Why would a full or new moon create a high tide?
- Beginning with a new moon on the 1st day of the month, where do you think the full moon would be on the calendar?
- What is a full lunar cycle?
- So what are the different names of the phases in order of smallest amount of light seen to largest amount of light seen?
- When looking at a last quarter moon, is the moon phase towards the end or the beginning of the lunar cycle?
- If you see a moon that has a crescent shape on its left side, what is it called, and is the moon in the beginning or the end of its lunar cycle?
- How come we never see the other side of the moon?
- What does waxing mean?
- What is a gibbous moon, and what does it look like?
- What does a waxing gibbous moon look like?
- Which side of the moon has the shadow in a waxing gibbous moon?
- Now, where in its orbit would the moon have to be in order for it to appear this way from an earth viewpoint?
2. Other Forms of Formative Assessment
- Time measuring activity (partners)
- Construction of Sun dial
- Sundial Lab worksheet (observations and data)
- Graphic Organizer filled in class.
- Demonstration of moon phases in conjunction with the asking of guiding questions, and the formation of a calendar.
- Homework: drawing the moon in its phase.